


The New Kid

by thatwriterlady



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Additional Warnings Apply, Bullying, Castiel Has a Crush on Dean Winchester, Castiel gets picked on, Castiel/Dean Winchester First Kiss, Dean likes Castiel too, Depressed Castiel, Fluff, Internet bullying, M/M, Nerdy Castiel, Popular Dean, Protective Dean Winchester, Shy Castiel, Verbal Humiliation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-28
Updated: 2015-11-28
Packaged: 2018-05-03 20:09:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,587
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5305166
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatwriterlady/pseuds/thatwriterlady
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cas' family moves to a new town for his dad's job and while all of his siblings fit in immediately, Cas does not.  Right from the start he is the target of bullies, in particular the popular girls at his middle school that single him out because of how he dresses, walks, and talks.  He tries to fit in but after nearly a full school year he hasn't made any friends, and the bullying is only escalating.  The one person that doesn't take part in it though is Cas' crush, Dean Winchester.  Most of the bullying is done discretely so on one but Cas and the bullies themselves know it's happening.  He does his best to ignore it, but one girls takes it a step further that spring when all he's trying to do is walk home, and he ends up sitting in a puddle being threatened by her.  Until Dean steps in.  He'd been told to stay out of it but he can only stand around keeping his mouth shut for so long.  He likes Cas.  </p>
<p>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SEE BEGINNING NOTES~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</p>
            </blockquote>





	The New Kid

**Author's Note:**

> This particular fic covers bullying and verbal abuse that happens every day all across America in public schools. I went through so much of it myself it's not funny. I got singled out as weird or stupid because I didn't respond to insults or jokes (I have Asperger's so I have to actually take a step back with people I don't know and try to determine whether they're being serious, joking, or mocking me, so no, I don't immediately respond). I only react quickly with people I know well and can read their facial expressions. So yes, I got hit with a lot of insults, I was pushed around, and on more than one occasion people tried to beat me up. I sustained a few injuries that required medical attention, one of which caused permanent damage, so I get bullying. And girls can be just as cruel as boys. This was a prompt though, so it has a happy ending, and I do hope you will like it. 
> 
> Part of the reason I went this route is because the prompt literally was of someone getting pushed in a puddle by some mean girls and told to go have sex with her boyfriend, and then mocked for not having one, until a boy comes to pull her out and says "Wait, did we break up? I sure hope not!" And then kisses her. In the end they do end up getting married. Well, I know from personal experience that bullying doesn't just escalate that quickly. It builds until it comes to a climax like this, so I needed to establish that ahead of time. Those that were bullied, you'll get it. Those that weren't, you are blessed. I hope you understand what the rest of us went through. Granted, most of my bullies have since apologized for how they treated me (funny how much guilt they end up carrying around), especially since a lot of them ended up with autistic children and realized the things they singled out in me as weird were actually signs of autism, and they felt like absolute asses for it. They sought me out. I never asked anything of anyone. I put my past in the past and moved on. But I do appreciate the gesture and accepted their apologies.

Not for the first time Cas wished his family hadn’t moved here. He hated Brighton Falls. The weather sucked, the new house sucked, and worst of all, the kids in his new school sucked. He knew kids could be cruel, they had always been cruel to him, but here they were particularly vicious.

Cas had made it to eighth grade by flying under the popular and bully radar as much as he possibly could, but he was the new kid and people were fascinated. Well, for the first week they were. After that he began to hear the whispers. At first it was about his clothes. When they thought he wasn’t looking they called him a nerd, or a geek. Neither would have been untrue, but the way in which they said it made it sound like a terrible thing to be. They commented on his backpack, the way he walked, the way he talked, and so he learned to stick to the shadows, talking very little, and moving about in a way that drew as little attention to himself as possible, but still the other kids messed with him. The popular girls were especially cruel. In the past girls had always had a sort of sympathy towards him, and they would defend him against the mean boys that tried to beat him up, but here? It was the girls that he feared the most. The things they called him were atrocious and he went home crying most days, sobbing into his pillow in misery and wishing he had a friend, someone that would stick up for him, and actually want to hang out with him. He knew that if they just took the time to get to know him they would realize he was nice and fun to hang out with. 

Every Tuesday Cas had to walk home. He stayed late for history club. The only reason he had even signed up for it was because Dean Winchester was in it. Since the first day he’d walked into the school and had laid eyes on Dean, Cas had just known. He’d never felt anything romantic towards girls, but then again he’d never felt much towards the boys at his old school, but then he arrived here, and well, Dean was just beautiful. And he was nice too. While he and Cas weren’t friends, he never, ever said a cruel word to him. He would just flash that incredible smile of his and move on. Just being near him was enough for Cas though. Dean gave him hope that maybe, just maybe there were some decent people in this school. He dreaded having to move on to completing four years with these assholes. Not for the first time he wondered if he could convince his mother to homeschool him. At least next year he’d be in school with two of his brothers.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Late summer turned to fall, and then to winter, and still Cas was a target for teasing. It had eased up a little since he had begged his parents to let him get some clothes that would help him fit in better, but unfortunately his reputation as a loser had already been established and even a nice pair of jeans and a cool tee shirt couldn’t erase that.

Cas focused on his homework and keeping his grades up. He still hadn’t made any real friends but at least some people talked to him in his classes, like Kevin, who was a math prodigy, and Garth, who was a geeky, gangly guy who kept the bullies off his back by having quite a gregarious personality and a wicked sense of humor. It was around the end of winter that he realized with a deep sense of dread that Lisette Reynolds, the most popular girl in school, lived on his street. She lived in the large white house with the perfectly manicured lawns that were tailored by a lawn maintenance service twice a week on the other side of the street. He lived in a decent sized brick house that seemed to perpetually need the grass cut. The moment Lisette realized where he lived, things got even worse. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It happened one afternoon, after a heavy snowfall the night before, when Cas dragged both of his brothers outside for a snowball fight. He was eager to kick their asses and they were more than game. Even his little sister Anna got in on it, and they all bundled up before running out to the front yard. They spent a good hour building walls to hide behind on either side of the yard. Cas and Gabe were on one team while Michael and Anna were on the other. Once they had their walls up, the fight began. They were whipping the snowballs at one another as hard as they could. Anna could hold her own and had a wicked curve ball, so no one was afraid of hurting her. Cas and Gabe were close to winning, laughing as they whipped the snowballs in quick succession over the other wall, waiting for Michael or Anna to cry truce when Cas heard a familiar laugh. He looked up to see Lisette standing out on the sidewalk watching them. 

He froze.

“What’s wrong?” Gabe asked.

“N-nothing. I’m done though. I’m going inside.” He started for the house but his brothers and sister were right on his heels.

“Who’s that girl? Why was she laughing?” Michael asked.

“Never mind!” Cas growled as he stripped out of his winter boots and coat.

“That didn’t sound like friendly laughter. Is she picking on you?” Gabe asked.

“I can handle myself,” Cas insisted as he unwound his scarf.

“I’ll kick her ass if she’s messing with you.” Michael was upset, and it was making Cas upset.

“Does she call you names?” Anna asked, her eyes wide with concern.

“It’s fine! I’m ok!” Down to just his socks, Cas bolted for the stairs and raced up to his bedroom. He closed his door, locking it behind himself before falling onto his bed. His laptop was still sitting in the corner from when he’d been reading a book online earlier, so he pulled it over and turned it on. His parents didn’t know he had a Facebook account. Even though he was legally old enough to have one, they didn’t approve of social media, but his brothers had both had one since they were eleven, so he had started one too. He pulled it up, smiling at the pictures of puppies and scenes from the recent Avenger movies that came up. Most things shared to his wall were done so by one of his brothers. 

Sometimes he went looking to see what things were said about him online. The popular girls were bad in school but they were downright vicious when hiding behind the mask of social media and the internet. He typed in Lisette’s name and her page came up. His stomach fell when he saw pictures of himself throwing snowballs at his brother, a huge smile on his face.

_  
“Look at this loser. He’s so gay he wears a snowsuit still to protect his precious little fairy ass. What a moron!”_

Cas felt the tears welling up in his eyes. He flagged the pictures and a few minutes later they were gone. Lisette’s cruelty though seemed to know no end. Her next post put him over the edge.

_“If you go to Lincoln Middle school and you know Castiel Novak, then you know what a pathetic excuse for a human he is. I know he just flagged the pictures I put up. Guess what creep? I’ll put them up again and again and again, so everyone can see what a loser you are. Why don’t you just go kill yourself?”_

A strangled sob escaped his throat as he collapsed face first onto his mattress. He ignored the pounding on his door and his brothers shouting his name. When the door opened a few minutes later it didn’t even register as to how they managed to bypass his lock. All he knew was that his father was pulling him into his arms, cradling him like he had done when he’d been just a baby. He clung to his father, the tears continuing to spill until there was nothing left to give.

“That little bitch!” Michael was on Cas’ computer and could see the message.

“Is that the girl that was just outside laughing at him?” Gabe had sat down next to him to see the screen.

“Screenshot that. I want proof to take to the police and the school. And her parents,” their father said. Michael did as he was told, and scoffed in shock when he saw the newly uploaded pictures of them playing in the snow with the horrible insults she had written about their brother. He copied the pictures and made screenshots of each one with its caption, emailing everything to their dad.

“Honey, how long has this been going on?” their father asked, his tone gentle and full of concern.

“It started when we moved here.” Cas sniffled and wiped at his eyes. He was exhausted.

“Why didn’t you tell me this was happened?” his father asked.

“Because she’s not the only one. All the girls do it. They’re cruel.” Cas shuddered and bit his lower lip as he tried not to burst into tears again.

“I think she’s the ringleader though, Dad,” Gabe said, pointing at the computer screen.

“There are ways to deal with this though. We’ll get it to stop.” Cas sighed as his dad ran his fingers gently through his hair. It was a soothing gesture his father had done since he was a baby. Unlike most dads that kept their distance and weren’t involved with their kids, Chuck Novak was deeply involved. He baked with them, read stories when they were little, took them to and from various clubs and attended PTA meetings, and when his children were upset, he comforted them. It was moments like this that he loved his father more than ever.

“Getting her in trouble with the school won’t do Cas any good if she’s just going to get angry and come up with new ways to pick on him. He hasn’t made any friends since we moved here,” Michael said.

“Is that true? You don’t have any new friends?” Chuck asked. Cas buried his face against his father’s chest and shook his head.

“No, no one likes me.” 

“That’s because they don’t know how epically awesome you are, little brother. If they gave you a chance they’d think you were the coolest guy ever,” Gabe insisted.

“Is it because you’re gay? Is that why they pick on you?” No one heard Anna come in, and she spoke softly, still worried about her brother’s well-being.

“You’re…gay?” Chuck had suspected it but Cas hadn’t come out yet, and he wasn’t going to force his son to do anything he wasn’t ready to do. “It’s ok, I’m not going to stop loving you, and neither will your mom. We love you unconditionally.”

“Jeez, Anna! He wasn’t out!” Gabe groaned. Anna’s eyes widened, and she stepped forward to touch Cas’ shoulder.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know.” She was close to crying and Cas turned, pulling her into his arms.

“It’s ok. I didn’t tell anyone. I guess it’s just obvious. But they pick on me because they don’t like the way I dress or talk, or even how I walk. I don’t do anything to make them not like me. They just don’t. The gay insults are kind of new, but not surprising,” Cas admitted.

“Your orientation is none of her concern, and she has no right to say anything negative about you. Mikey and me, we got your back next year. You can be sure of that,” Gabe said. He wished he was still in middle school so he could put these jerks in their place.

“We have to deal with the here and now. I am going down to my office and I am going to print out the screenshots, and then I am going to make a couple of appointments. Do we know where this girl lives? I’d like to talk to her parents, today if I can,” Chuck said.

“Oh, ho, ho, daddy-o’s in lawyer mode…,” Gabe sang out gleefully.

“She’ll stop? You’re sure?” Cas asked. He just wanted the bullying to be over once and for all.

“It’s a matter of stopping not just her but everyone that thinks it’s alright to pick on others. I’m certain you’re not the only one being picked on, so getting this taken care of, it helps not just you but all the kids getting picked on,” his dad explained. 

“Ok. She lives across the street, in the white house on the corner with the red door,” Cas replied.

“And what is her name?” Chuck asked.

“Lisette Reynolds.”

“I know that name. Her brother Toby is on the LaCrosse team,” Michael said. “He’s as bit of a douche as she is, but for different reasons.”

Chuck nudged his son and daughter so that he could get up. All four kids looked up at him from where they sat on the bed.

“They don’t know who they’re dealing with, messing with the Novak family. But they’re about to find out.” There was a steely look to their father’s eye. All Cas could do was hope that his dad was effective.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In less than an hour the pictures were not only gone from Facebook but her entire account was closed down. Cas made his way around to look at the pages of some of the other girls that bullied him, looking for clues as to whether they knew what was happening, but no one else was talking about him. He was dreading the next day at school, especially since his father was driving him in so he could go and talk to the principal.

“So you’re gay, huh?” Michael asked. Cas shrugged.

‘I guess? I don’t like girls. At least, not to date. I don’t want to do things with them.” Cas blushed as he admitted this. He’d never told anyone this before.

“There’s nothing wrong with being gay. We’re a family and anyone messes with you because of your orientation, I’ll kick their asses,” Michael promised. Cas smiled.

“Well, I like both. There’s some hot guys as well as some hot girls around town,” Gabe said as he hooked his hands behind his head and leaned back against the headboard.

“So, what, you’re bi?” Michael asked. Gabe shrugged.

“I guess.”

“I don’t like boys, they have cooties.” Anna wrinkled her nose, making all three of her brothers laugh.

“They all have cooties at your age, you’re only ten,” Cas said, bumping shoulders with her.

“I don’t like girls though, other than for friends. Does that mean I’m gay?”

Cas stroked her hair gently, much like his father would be doing if he were the one having this conversation.

“No, ladybug. But you’re only ten. Give it a few more times before you decide who you like. There’s no rules that say you have to like any specific person. Just follow your heart.”

“Is that what you’re doing? Do you like someone?” she asked. He blushed and ducked his head but not fast enough. Both of his brothers noticed.

“Oh….Cassie _does_ have a crush! What’s his name? Is he cute?” Gabe sat up and punched his younger brother lightly in the arm.

“Maybe, but it’s no big deal, it’s not mutual,” Cas muttered.

“How do you know? Does he bully you? Please don’t tell me you like one of the bullies,” Michael groaned. “I’ll have to come down and kick his ass too if he does.”

Cas shook his head. “N-no, he’s nice. He never makes fun of me.”

“Is that why you like him?” Anna asked.

“No, he’s just really, really cute,” Cas gushed as a smile came across his lips.

“Ok, show me what cute looks like.” Gabe turned the laptop around and with a sigh Cas looked up Dean’s Facebook account. He found it and went into the public pictures.

“There, that’s him,” he said, turning the computer and pointing to Dean. Both of his brothers and Anna all leaned in to look.

“He is cute. Nice smile,” Gabe said.

“I like his freckles. I want freckles,” Anna said, touching her own cheeks.

“I like his eyes. When he smiles, you can tell it’s real because it reflects in his eyes. Same when he’s mad or scared or hurt. His eyes are very expressive,” Cas said, his blush growing deeper.

“Well, if those eyes are working, he’ll notice you, Cassie, and he’ll be smitten,” Gabe said confidently. Cas doubted it, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t dream.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day Cas’ stomach was in his throat as his father pulled into the school parking lot. He had already gone down the street to talk to Lisette’s parents the night before and come back to talk about how disappointed they were in their daughter’s behavior. They were the reason her Facebook account had gotten closed, and they were severely grounding her. Surprisingly, they were also backing Chuck up on his plans to talk to the principal.

Cas sat in the waiting room of the principal’s office while his father spoke in private with Principal Singer first. He picked at the edge of his Led Zeppelin shirt, a gift from his brother for Christmas that year, as he waited for them to call him in. He was scuffing one sneaker across the carpet when the lobby door opened. He didn’t bother looking up, people came and went all the time.

“Cool shirt, Cas.” 

His head snapped up and he saw Dean Winchester walking in. 

“Um, thank you.” He even thought to smile when Dean did.

“You like Zep?” Dean was handing papers to the secretary and as he waited for her to give him something in return, he leaned against the counter and looked at Cas.

“I do, very much. My brother got me into a lot of classic rock. I have a lot of music on my iPod,” Cas replied. Dean nodded approvingly.

“That’s awesome, so do I. I love classic rock, it’s so much better than that new age stuff my brother listens to.” He shivered and Cas chuckled.

“What has you here in the dungeon?” Dean asked. Cas’ smile faltered and he looked down at his hands. When he didn’t answer Dean took a few steps closer.

“Was it over those pictures Lisette put up last night? I saw them on my wall, and I thought they were pretty cool. I have snowball fights with my brother, too, but what she said on them wasn’t. For what it counts, I think you’re pretty cool, Cas. Don’t let idiots like her get to you, you’re better than that.”

Dean?” The secretary was holding out a piece of paper and he hurried back to grab it.

“Take it easy, Cas. I’ll see you around.” He smiled and winked before leaving. Cas stared after him in complete shock. Dean Winchester had said he was cool. _Dean Winchester_!!!!! He was still in shock when the inner door opened and Principal Singer called his name.

“Castiel? Come on in, son.” 

Castiel immediately put aside all thoughts of what had just happened with Dean, his thoughts turning to the reason he was here. This was not going to be pleasant.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To Cas’ surprise, Lisette did not return to school. Her parents had decided to homeschool her the rest of the year, or at least that was the rumor, and she was being sent to an all girls’ school for high school. So there was one less bully to worry about. Problem was, there were twenty more to replace her. With Lisette gone, Principal Singer and other staff could be seen more frequently around school, before classes, in the hall between them, and after school as they walked out to the buses. Bullying dropped drastically, though still people weren’t going out of their way to be Cas’ friend. He was fine with that as long as no one was verbally or physically abusing him. Winter turned to spring and everyone was counting down the weeks until summer break, including Cas. He did his homework, participated when asked in history club, and when he was at home he played video games or read books. 

The bullying started up again, though it was more subtle. A girl by the name of April began following Cas around school asking him stupid questions.

“Do you have a boyfriend?”

He ignored her.

“You like boys though, I know you do.” 

Again he ignored her.

“What do you do with boys? The same things girls do?”

He couldn’t believe her blatant ignorance. His father had advised him to ignore people like this, assuring him they would get bored and eventually give up. Apparently someone forgot to give her that memo because she followed him around day after day asking these same questions. He stuck to his father’s advice though and ignored her.

It was a Tuesday after history club that he was leaving school by himself. He spotted the group of girls sitting on the retention wall off to his left but he ignored them.

“Look, there he is!” He heard one of them saying.

“Hey, Cas!” It was April. He rolled his eyes but kept walking. It was raining, and he wanted to get home before it started to pour. 

“Cas!” She sounded offended that he wasn’t answering her. He picked up his pace, turning right once he was out of the parking lot.

Suddenly he had girls on both sides of him.

“What do you want?” he asked, thoroughly irritated.

She shoved him, nearly knocking him off balance, and he stopped to glare at her.

“What is your problem?” he snapped.

“You’re an asshole, that’s my problem. I’ve been trying to talk to you for weeks and you ignore me. It’s rude and I’m done with it.” She crossed her arms and looked down at him. Curse puberty, she still had a good four inches up on him.

“You ask personal questions that are none of your business. I don’t have to answer you.” He turned to leave but she pushed him again, harder this time. Stumbling on a crack in the sidewalk he landed in a rather significant puddle. He was so done. His lower lip quivered as his eyes began to fill with tears.

“Why are you so mean to me? I never did anything to you!”

“Aww, look at the little sissy boy, crying. Where’s your boyfriend? Why don’t you go have sex with him, he can make you feel better,” she sneered. “Oh, wait, you don’t _have_ a boyfriend. No one would date a loser like you!” 

She snorted, ready to spit on him when someone shoved her so hard she hit the wall before stumbling herself and landing on her ass. Cas looked up to see a rather angry looking Dean Winchester standing there. He was glaring at April but a gasp from Cas made him redirect his attention. His gaze softened and he smiled as he offered his hand.

“Wait, we didn’t break up, did we? I sure hope not!” He laughed as he hauled Cas to his feet. Cas gaped for a moment, and as April and the other girls watched, Dean pulled him against him and kissed him. It was every fantasy come true and he melted into it. When Dean finally pulled back he leaned his forehead against Cas’ and smiled.

“Are you hurt?”

“N-no, just wet.”

Dean smiled wider before turning to glare at the girls, all of whom were gaping in shock at them.

“If I see a single one of you _ever_ touching him again, you’ll have _me_ to deal with. Understand?” He damn near snarled the words and they all backed up, nodding quickly that they understood.

“Apologize, April. He didn’t deserve you being a complete bitch like that,” Dean ordered.

“S-sorry!” she said quickly.

“Now get lost, all of you!” Dean snapped. They scattered, and Cas let out a sigh of relief.

“Thank you. You didn’t have to do that, but I appreciate it. She’s been harassing me for months.” Cas was acutely aware that Dean still had a hand on his lower back and that they were still standing so close that their chests were touching.

“I should have stepped in sooner. I’m sorry; I didn’t realize how bad they were really messing with you. Bobby, uh, Principal Singer, he told me to mind my own business. He’s my dad’s best friend.” Dean was suddenly shy, peering up through his long lashes. Cas was dying to kiss him again.

“I did what my dad said, I ignored her, but she wouldn’t stop.” Cas frowned and lowered his head but Dean apparently didn’t like that. He tucked a hand under Cas’ jaw and lifted his head so that he could look at him again.

“Maybe that wasn’t the classiest way to tell you that I like you, but…I like you, Cas.”

Cas’ eyes widened. Dean liked him?!

“What?” It came out almost as a whisper.

“Can I walk you home?” Dean asked. Cas nodded, he didn’t trust himself to speak without his voice cracking.

“C-can I hold your hand?” Dean held out one hand and Cas looked down at it.

“You’re not saying that just to make fun of me, are you?” he asked. If Dean was just doing this to make him the laughing stock he was finding the nearest bridge and jumping off it. He was so close to his snapping point as it was. There was no way he could handle it if his crush were out to hurt him too. Dean grabbed his hand before leaning in and kissing him softly for a second time.

“I _like_ you, Cas. I was just too shy to say it. I promise I won’t hurt you.”

And Cas trusted him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was another six blocks to Cas’ house and he should have been miserable with how wet he was, but he was too busy focusing on the sensation of his fingers and how they were wrapped around Dean’s, and the way the other boy kept moving closer as they walked along, their shoulders bumping from time to time.

“Would you like to come in?” Cas asked when they reached his house. Dean smiled and nodded.

“Yeah, ok.”

They were still holding hands when they walked in, and his brother Gabe spotted them first.

“Cassie! Now I know it’s not raining _that_ hard out there, why are you so…oh, hello.” He arched a brow, smirking when he saw who was with his brother. His eyebrows shot up when he saw that they were holding hands.

“Hey, Mikey!” he shouted.

“Gabe,” Cas complained.

“No, I want to know why you’re soaking wet. Whose ass do I have to go and kick?” Gabe demanded.

“You don’t. Dean…he took care of it.” Cas blushed and Dean grinned.

“I told those idiots off. They’re not going to mess with Cas again.”

Michael walked in, his expression one of surprise when he saw Cas was not alone, but it immediately turned to concern when he saw the state his brother was in.

“Did someone push you in water?” he asked.

“Yeah, a girl that’s been bothering me the last few months. She kept asking me really personal questions and I wouldn’t answer them, so today she got really nasty and pushed me down in front of her friends. I fell in a puddle.” Cas looked down at the floor, embarrassed just thinking about the awful things April had said. Dean, sensing his discomfort, pulled his hand out of Cas’ so he could put an arm around his waist instead.

“She seemed to think that Cas can’t get a boyfriend, that he’s too pathetic. I hope I proved her wrong. That’s if Cas will have me. As his boyfriend, I mean.” He looked at Cas, that shy smile back, and Cas stared back in shock.

“What my brother is so eloquently trying to say is ‘Oh my God! _Yes_ I will be your boyfriend, you’re soooooooooooo dreamy!’” Gabe gushed in a sing-song voice that made Michael burst out laughing.

“I’m going to _kill_ you!” Cas shouted, but before he could lunge at his brother their mother, Naomi, walked in.

“What on earth…” She looked at her youngest son in dismay. “Are you hurt, sweetheart?”

“No, Mom, I’m ok, I promise.”

She noticed Dean and how he had his arm around her son and she gave them a knowing smile. “Did he come to your rescue?”

“Cas is pretty good at rescuing himself, ma’am, but I couldn’t stand by with the insults they were lobbing his way. It wasn’t right,” Dean piped up.

“Well, thank you. What’s your name?” she asked.

“Dean, Winchester,” he replied.

“Well, Dean, would you like to stay for dinner? We’re having pot roast, and afterwards we’re having pie for dessert.”

Dean’s eyes lit up at the mention of pie. “I would love to, I just need to call my mom and make sure it’s ok.”

“Sweetheart, go upstairs and change. Leave your wet clothes in the laundry room and I’ll take care of them later, ok?” his mother said.

“Ok,” Cas nodded. She brushed her fingers through his wet hair, pushing it back from his face.

“I’ll go call my mom,” Dean said, releasing Cas. He already missed his touch.

“I’ll be down in a few,” Cas said. Dean nodded, pulling out his cell phone as Cas darted up the stairs. He stripped and changed at lightning speed, not wanting to leave his brothers alone for too long with Dean.

Dean Winchester was in his house! He wanted to squeal with excitement and do a little happy dance, but right now he needed to get back downstairs.

Dean was sitting on the couch when he returned.

“Good news, my mom says yes, I can stay for dinner, and she wants to know if you can come to our house tomorrow night to do the same.” Dean’s green eyes were alight with excitement and what looked to Cas like affection. His stomach did a little flip at the sight of it. He nodded.

“Sure, if my mom says it’s ok. Or my dad, whoever.” He sat down next to Dean, finally noticing that both of his brothers were still in the room. And they were both smiling almost wolfishly.

“Is it just you and your brothers?” Dean asked him.

“No, my little sister Anna’s around here somewhere.” Cas replied.

“Anna went to the store with dad. They’ll be back any minute,” Michael said.

“Oh, ok.”

“So tell me more about yourself, Cas. All I know is that you like classic rock. And which brother got you into it?” Dean asked. Michael raised his hand.

“That would be me. I snagged my dad’s records when I was like eight, and I was hooked. Cas was the one that liked it too. Gabe here likes that bubblegum junk, and he’s rubbing off on Anna,” Michael laughed.

Dean snuck an arm around Cas’ waist, tugging him closer. “This ok?” He asked softly. Cas smiled and nodded.

“And that’s my cue to go find a good book to read.” Gabe got up and Michael followed.

“Nice meeting you, Dean,” Gabe and Michael both said before they left the room.

“Your brothers are nice,” Dean said.

“They’re a pain in the ass, especially Gabe. But…they’re pretty cool too,” Cas admitted.

“So what else do you like? What do you do for fun?”

“I play video games, I read, I write, and I watch TV. That’s when I’m not doing homework,” Cas said with a chuckle. Dean smiled.

“I hear ya on the homework. And I love video games. What ones do you play?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Who is that with Cas?” Chuck asked as he peeked into the living room. He could see his son curled up, leaning into a boy about the same age and talking animatedly about something. The boy had an arm around Cas’ waist, which made Chuck raise an eyebrow.

“That would be Cas’ first boyfriend, Dean,” Naomi replied, smiling. Chuck relaxed and smiled back.

“Cassie has a boyfriend?” Anna asked as she skirted around her father and popped into the living room before her parents could stop her.

“Hi,” she said as she walked over to the couch.

“Hi, yourself. You must be Anna. I’m Dean.” He offered her a hand and she shook it, smiling as she did so.

“You’re Cassie’s boyfriend?” she asked. Cas groaned and buried his face in his hands, but Dean just chuckled and gave him a squeeze.

“I am,” Dean nodded.

“I like your freckles. I want freckles too.” She touched her cheek where she wished she had some.

“Who knows? Maybe one day you’ll have some. But so you know, you’re cute without them,” he told her.

She smiled so bright it made her cheeks hurt.

“How old are you?” he asked.

“I’m ten.” 

“You’re the same age as my brother. I bet you go to school with him. Do you know Sam Winchester?” Dean asked her. She nodded excitedly.

“I do! Sam and I just got assigned to do a paper together on England. He’s going to write the report while I do the research and gather items to show for International Day.” 

“Oh yeah, he mentioned that project. You lucked out, Sammy’s a smart one, and he loves writing reports. Kid’s a weirdo,” Dean laughed.

“I think he’s nice. He’s not mean like some of the other kids.” 

“That’s ’cause I’d kick his butt if he were mean, and so would our mom.” He winked at her and she giggled.

“Are you gay, Dean?” 

“Anna!” Cas cried. Why did she love to embarrass him? Dean pulled him closer, taking one of Cas’ hands with his free one and threading their fingers together.

“Yeah, I am. Is that ok with you?” he asked the little girl. She nodded.

“I don’t like boys, I think they’re gross. Except for maybe Sam. And Ryan Corsen. He’s nice to me too, but not as nice as Sam.”

“Well, you’ll figure it out someday. There’s no rush,” Dean told her.

“That’s the same thing Cassie told me. I don’t want to kiss boys. Or girls. Kissing is gross.” She wrinkled her nose and both boys laughed.

“Anna, let them be. Go get washed up for dinner,” Naomi said. 

“Yes, Mom.” She turned back to look at Dean. “You’re going to be nice to my brother, right? Cause no one’s nice to him but us, and he’s a good guy.”

“I promise I’ll be nice to him.” Dean told her. She eyed him for a moment before nodding, giving him a soft smile.

“Ok. I have to go wash my hands now. Bye!”

“Bye, Anna,” Dean called after her.

“I am so sorry, my brothers and sister can be so embarrassing,” Cas apologized.

“No worries. Wait til you meet Sam tomorrow. His mission in life is to humiliate me,” Dean chuckled. Cas could relate, he did have Gabe for a brother after all.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Talking with Dean was easy, and after they had eaten and had some pie Cas was allowed to bring Dean up to his room to play some videogames until his father came to get him. They continued to talk, though mostly they concentrated on the game they were playing, until Chuck popped his head in the room.

“Dean, your dad’s downstairs.” 

Cas paused the game and once his dad had left the doorway, they stood up.

“So, you’re not going to change your mind tomorrow, are you?” Cas asked. It was a worry niggling at the back of his mind, and he wanted an answer. Dean smiled, moving closer and putting his hands on Cas’ hips.

“No way am I backing out. I want to be your boyfriend. In school and out. Can I kiss you goodbye? If I do it downstairs either your family will tease you or my dad will tease me.”

Cas snickered and nodded. “Yes, please.”

It was a soft kiss, a gentle pressing of their lips together, just as it has been when Dean had pulled him up and out of the puddle earlier. When they pulled apart they were both smiling.

“You know, when I kissed you this afternoon? That was my first kiss,” Dean admitted.

“Mine too.” Cas sucked his lower lip between his teeth as he smiled.

“Ok, walk me out?” Dean held out one hand and Cas happily took it. 

Downstairs, Dean’s dad was standing in the doorway talking with Chuck. He smiled as the boys walked up.

“You behave yourself?” Dean’s dad asked.

“Yes, sir,” Dean replied. His dad looked at Cas and smiled. Cas could see where Dean had gotten the warmth from. Though his father’s eyes were brown, his smile twinkled in them, just like Dean’s did when he was happy. He held a hand out to Cas.

“I’m John, Dean’s dad. I hear you’re joining us for dinner tomorrow night. Mary, my wife, asked me to find out what your favorite food is.” Cas shook the man’s hand, surprised by the question.

“Oh, um…burgers, maybe? Or lasagna. I’ll pretty much eat anything though.” 

John chuckled and reached out to ruffle Dean’s hair. “Sounds like a certain someone I know.”

“Dad,” Dean complained as he pushed his dad’s hand away.

“Ok, well, time to get home. I’m sure you still have homework, and your mom says you need to put your laundry away. Let’s go.” John shook hands with both Cas and Chuck.

“It was nice to meet you both. We’ll see you tomorrow, Cas.” 

“Yes, sir,” Cas nodded politely.

“Bye, Cas. I’ll text you later, ok?” Dean said.

“Alright,” Cas smiled. He watched Dean go, and his father closed the door behind them.

“So. Dean. Is he the boy Gabe and Michael were telling me you had a crush on?” Chuck asked. He smiled softly at his son, who looked thoroughly embarrassed.

“Ugh, why is everyone so interested in what I’m doing?!” Cas threw his hands up in the air and groaned loudly.

“Now, now, none of that. They worry about you. Be glad that you have a family that loves and cares about you.” Chuck put an arm around his son’s shoulder and tugged him along towards the kitchen.

“Yes, I liked Dean. I didn’t know he liked me too, or that he was even gay until today,” Cas replied.

“He seems like a nice boy.”

“He’s really nice.”

“It’s good to see you happy, son. Now go on up to your room and finish your homework, ok?”

Cas nodded and pulled away from his dad to dash up the stairs. He could hear what sounded like Lady Gaga coming from Gabe’s room, and he rolled his eyes as he went into his own room. He was still riding the high from this afternoon. Dean liked him and wanted to be his boyfriend, and he’d had his first, second AND third kiss, all in the same day. And Dean wanted to keep seeing him. For the first time since they’d moved here, he was actually glad that they had.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**15 Years Later**

_“The odds of two people meeting in childhood and staying together for fifteen years is extremely low. I won’t bore you with numbers, you’ll fall asleep in your food if I do, but the point I’m trying to make is that my brother and Dean, they beat those odds, and not only did they beat them, they proved that there really _is_ such a thing as true love. I’ll be honest, Dean was a scrawny little thing when he showed up at our house that first day with my brother. He was a cute kid though, and I could see why my brother was smitten with him, but what I really liked was his determination to keep my brother safe. That struck a chord with me. I later came to learn that Dean is the type of person that is incapable of just caring a little. He either loves with everything he has, or he hates with that same ferocity. There is no middle ground with him. I think that day he told those bullies off and hauled my brother up out of that puddle, he was already smitten, already completely committed to the skinny kid with the unruly hair and bright blue eyes. My brother Cas. He took a chance when no one else would, and he became so much more than just my brother’s boyfriend. They’re best friends, partners, lovers. They’re one another’s soul mate, if you will. I expected them to last a week, maybe two. A month tops. It was middle school, that was the duration of most relationships back then. But no, they made it the rest of the school year. And then that summer. And then their freshman year. By the end of their senior year I knew. One day, Dean was going to be a member of the Novak family, it was just a matter of time.”_

_“They went away to college and I admit, I worried. I know how distance can tear relationships apart, but Dean was always so eager to get back to my brother, to hold him in his arms, to love him. The crazy thing is, it gave me a standard by which I began to set my own relationships. I figured if they could find love like that, then so could I. I helped them move into their first apartment together. It was a tiny little thing, but they were so excited because it was theirs. Then Dean was offered his dream job, and Cas started teaching. And things went up from there. They bought a house together last year. Beautiful place that I love visiting, not because they’re in a house now instead of an apartment, but because the moment I step through their front door, I can feel the love that fills every nook and cranny in the place. They took a house and made it a home. And still their love continues to grow deeper. How is that even possible? I mean, how are they not sick of one another yet? On a more serious note though, I envy them and what they have. I look at them, and I can see the love that radiates from them both. Fifteen years together and they still share little smiles, soft touches, tender kisses, as though everything is new to them, and it is absolutely amazing to me.”_

_“When my brother decided to propose, I was thrilled. I knew the day was going to come, and I had no doubt in my mind that Dean would say yes. Later, when my brother called to tell me the news, that indeed, Dean had said yes, I cried. Like I said, I never doubted Dean’s love for my brother or that he would say yes. I cried because as my brother told me the news I could hear the awe and wonder in his voice, as though he couldn’t believe Dean loved him so much that he was willing to commit to Cas for the rest of his life. And so here we are, at the wedding of the two people I always knew would end up together, and that I love more than anything in the world. Dean, he became my brother many years ago, and I’ll continue to love him like he’s my own flesh and blood. They’re embarking now on the next stage of their relationship, where they expand upon their family. For those of you that don’t know, and I got permission to share this information tonight, they have a surrogate ready to carry their first child for them. So, this time next year I’ll be an uncle, and I am beyond excited about that as well. I think this child will be blessed beyond measure to have two of the best men I’ve ever had the privilege of knowing for parents. So, let’s raise our glasses and toast Cas and Dean. We will wish them all the love and happiness in the world, as we all know they will love one another until their last dying breath. Here’s to you, brothers. May you have a blessed marriage and a lifetime of happiness, until you are reunited once more in heaven to spend eternity together.”_

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

Cas looked at his husband as Gabe gave the most beautiful speech and had to blink back his tears. It was pointless because the moment he looked at Dean and saw the tears in those green eyes he loved so much, his resolve crumbled and they fell into one another’s arms, sobbing and kissing one another. 

“Baby, I love you so much, so much more than words could ever convey,” Dean whispered in his ear. 

“Thank you, Dean, for taking that chance on me all those years ago, and for loving me. I love you now and forever.” 

He leaned in to kiss Dean. It was a soft, gentle pressing of their lips, just like their first kiss had been. Full of promise and hope for their future. 

**Author's Note:**

> So I hope you liked this one. Leave me a comment and a kudos, I do respond as most of you already know. :)


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